U R ATE BIT

Where we talk about movies, tv, video games, books, technology, food and basically everything else that I find interesting (which is usually a bunch of crazy/obscure stuff).

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Profile: Effie Trinket

EFFIE TRINKET

HER TRIBUTES AREN’T THE ONLY THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO THIS SEASON.

With a keen eye towards cutting edge trends and a willingness to break boundaries, Capitol-born style icon and District 12 Escort Effie Trinket has been a fashion pioneer since her very first Hunger Games. She has been known to take the iconic building blocks of contemporary Capitol fashion such as sleeves, hairpieces and bold colors and craft stunning looks that go on to influence all of Panem’s fashion-forward citizens. Whether she is chauffeuring her latest Tributes or walking the boulevards of the Capitol, Effie maintains an exquisite profile that demonstrates her spirit and the pride she takes in her work.

When it comes to the day-to-day, Effie likes to complement her exquisite full body polish with audacious garment selections paired with dazzling footwear such as the daring 24-Karat McQueen peep-toes she was recently spotted wearing in the City Circle. It’s no surprise Capitol designers are literally lining up to create her next pair. And who wouldn’t? When it comes to shoes, Effie’s got sole. “The higher the heel the better. I just love love love dropping by the City Circle in my perspex-heeled metallic booties!”

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Pitchfork's Best Songs of 2011

So Pitchfork released their best songs of the year and frankly, there are some on there that should be there and others that shouldn't be there. I believe Smith Westerns "Weekend" should be on the top ten instead of EMA "Califonia". Also, Cults "Bumper" should be on this list because it's the best song ever. So go see this list if you want to see some pretty cool songs from the ultimate hipster guide.

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The Beginning of the End (of Year Lists)

So we are nearing the end of this year and that means a retrospective of this year's music. Most of the music websites have begun to determine what albums were great and what albums were not so great. So far, the websites that I mostly agree with are Stereogum and Gorilla vs. Bear and I'm pretty sure I will mostly agree with Pitchfork's list (when it comes out). I will determine my own list later in the month (but it will probably resemble these lists).

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Fez and Super Hypercube

Tonight I went to GR2 Game Night 7 where Polytron had demos on two great games. "Super Hypercube" is a Kinect game where you try to move a shape through a hole and as you progress, your shape gains more cubes making the shape more complex. The best part about this game is that its in 3D making the shape jump out from the screen making look more awesome. The game I was really excited about was "Fez" which is about a guy thing where you are allowed to move the world and the guy thing in order to solve puzzles. Being allowed to move the world gives the game more complexity and makes it that much more fun. I don't know when or if "Super Hypercube" will be released but "Fez" will be released for the Xbox Live Arcade in the future (which is great because it looks like "Fez" will be my next "Limbo", probably one of the greatest Xbox Live Arcade games out there). Bonus: Meat Bun had a pop up shop and I was able to get one of their future releases early making me that much more awesome.

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Bon Iver Nominated for 4 Grammys

Bon Iver has been nominated for Song of the Year and Record of the Year for "Holocene", Best New Artist and Best Alternative Album, so yeah, kind of a big deal for people who listen to good music. Obviously, I want him to win (because c'mon, Bruno Mars doesn't need another reason to make more music) and I want the internet to break when he wins a Grammy. 

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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

                                    I'm roughly ten hours into "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" and I have barely done only three of the main story missions. Most of the time I am either wandering the vast land that is Skyrim or undertaking side quests from the various people you encounter in the game. This is probably my only gripe about the game: there is way too much to do in this game (and a lot of random things that get dropped into the game which make for a lot of encounters). When a game gives you so much to do, there tends to be a temporary paralysis on the gamer (i.e. me) in which I have to choose what I want to do. If I continue with a main mission, I could probably be missing out on an interesting side mission where I get some awesome sword or powerful armor. Missions also tend to be too far apart, which can either be a time of admiration for the game's landscape, or a pain when you just want to get the mission done. I knew what I was getting myself into when I bought this game: a grandiose story set in a beautiful land filled with a lot things (and dragons) and so far I'm enjoying it. It can be a bit much at times, but overall it is definitely one of my favorite games. So buy it if you want a game with hours upon hours of things to do and if you want to kill some dragons, which who wouldn't want to do that.

9/10

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This is "Home for the Holidays" by Emmy the Great and Tim Wheeler to get the Christmas spirit going. And for more Christmas songs by a guy and girl duo, check out "A Very She & Him Christmas" by She & Him (which is also pretty good).

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Community on Mid-Season Hold

This is troubling news, one of the best comedies on TV right now is now in danger of being cancelled. NBC has put "Community" on a mid-season hiatus meaning no new episodes for  awhile. This is never a good sign but NBC has stated they are not canceling the show but that hasn't stopped people from making websites and groups on saving the show. Hopefully NBC does the right thing and lets "Community" to be the great show it has always been and cancel "Whitney" instead, cause that show is awful (and yes, I have seen "Whitney" and it is awful).

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James Ferraro, Big Troubles, and Real Estate

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Here's the video for Real Estate's "It's Real", it has dogs and has the band having fun with said dogs. It just shows this band really is as fun and chill as their music sets them out to be.

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The Beach Boys - Smile

                          An impressive box set of The Beach Boys legendary scrapped "Smile" album is released today containing five CDs, two LPs, two 7"s, a 60-page book, and a special 3D cover. Brian Wilson already released an album which he believed would have been The Beach Boys "Smile" under the same name and that album was really great, so these sessions have very high expectations, and so far so good. So if you're rich, get the box set, but if you're not, get the album any way you can in any format you want, it is well worth it.

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This is another song that is always on heavy rotation for me. "Cults" (the album and the band) have songs that are poppy, fun, and really well made, but "Bumper" is probably their best. It's like a song from the 50s/60s but remade for today.

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I've been listening to this song since I first had "Bon Iver" and you can see why. His live shows are truly amazing because his voice is just so perfect.

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Grand Theft Auto V

Next Wednesday will officially known as "Grand Theft Auto V Trailer Day" (I'm great at making up day names, obviously) because that is when Rockstar will officially reveal "Grand Theft Auto V". Being as this is a standalone numbered "Grand Theft Auto" we can be sure there will be new characters, new story, and if the rumor mill is true, a new city (everyone is saying it will be Los Angeles aka Los Santos). Seeing as "Grand Theft Auto IV" was a spectacular game, I am very much looking forward to this next entry.

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Battlefield 3

The game that is supposed to compete with "Modern Warfare 3" comes out tomorrow. From what the previews and reviews have been saying, it seems that the game's single player is the afterthought and the multiplayer is where the game really excels. It should come as no surprise that "Battlefield 3" has an excellent multiplayer as DICE really are the pioneers of multiplayer FPSs. I for one play the single player of every FPS (mostly for the achievements because I am an achievement whore and because sometimes I don't want to hear thirteen-year-old boys curse at me) so I'm a little disappointed that the single player really isn't living up to all those excellent trailers. Even with these little gripes, I'm still probably going to get this game because I'm in the mood for some FPS and I'm going to need something to play while I wait for "Modern Warfare 3" and "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim".

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Real Estate - Days

"Days" by Real Estate has been on heavy rotation on my iPod and Spotify for me because it truly is a great album. It "flows" a lot more better than their debut (which isn't to say "Real Estate" wasn't a good album, it's a great album by itself). The songs on "Days" sound a little more full and yet, they sound so simple. This album definitely has the potential to reach more people, which is a good thing because more people need to know more about Real Estate. My favorite song has to be the album opener "Easy" which sounds like "classic" Real Estate while at the same time shows the band sounding more fuller. So basically what I'm saying is if you want an album to chill out to or just vibe on some relaxing melodies, get this album because it is awesome.

9/10

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Persona 4: The Animation

        Persona 4 (an excellent video game (based on my experience from Persona 3)) has been turned into an anime because why not. From what I've seen from the first episode, it takes strongly from the video game, with the persona cards and the velvet room, plus the whole "Thou art I, I am thou" speech every persona makes after making a new persona. It has very strong potential to be something special but we'll just have to wait and see.